The recent meeting of the Oconto Falls Lions featured a guest of honor, who made a point to provide special recognition for two of its long time members. Oconto Falls Lioness President Stephanie Holman was on hand to present Knight of Sight plaques to Lions Leonard Burns and Vern Mortier.

The Knight of Sight is the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin’s highest form of recognition presented to an individual by their club, zone, group or district. Recipients of the Knight of Sight Award exemplify the LEBW’s mission to give the Gift of Sight in Wisconsin, the United States, and internationally.

As a retired school guidance counselor, Lion Burns has always had a special affinity for the young people in our schools. Some years ago when the Oconto Falls Lions Club stepped up to join a number of clubs in Northeast Wisconsin to purchase a vision screening machine, he was one of the first to be trained and to work the screening process. During the past few years hundreds of students and preschoolers in the community have been tested for vision issues and those who needed further evaluation were referred to vision professionals.

Lion Mortier is a long time community member well known for his work on many Lions projects, not the least of which has been the collection of used eye glasses, which are forwarded to the Wisconsin Lions eyeglass recycling project. Through that project used eyeglasses are cleaned, classified, and refurbished for use by individuals who may not be able to otherwise afford the glasses to improve their eyesight. The white collection buckets can be found in many businesses and other locations in the Oconto Falls area. The Oconto Falls Lions encourage community members to make use of the eyeglass recycling program to help with this Lions effort to give the gift of sight.

Pictured left to right are Lion Leonard Burns, Lioness President Stephanie Holman,
& Lion Vern Mortier.